Residents join forces to ground Juhu airport

Mumbai: The Airport Authority of India's (AAI) plan to use the defunct Juhu aerodrome as an alternative for small aircraft to ease congestion at the international airport seems all set to hit turbulence. Residents' groups from the area are strongly opposed to the plan which will see the runway being extended by 1,100 m into the sea.
The Juhu Citizens' Welfare Group (JCWG) plans to launch a "No Airpot on Juhu Beach" campaign and will collect around 10,000 signatures at the beach on Sunday to highlight the ecological damage to be caused by the project. The residents' forum will also submit a memorandum to Jairam Ramesh, Union environment and forests minister.
Locals fear that the runway will divide their scenic 3.5-km beach into two. "The main beach will be cordoned off in the name of security," said Hansel D'Souza, president, JCWG. " Mumbai will lose one of its popular tourist attractions. We also fear that the AAI, in the guise of public-private-partnership, will allow private consortiums to commercially exploit public space in lieu of the airport`s construction," he added.
The Rs 2,000-crore project is being undertaken to accommodate 20-25 ageing ATRs and smaller aircraft.
24/10/10 Linah Baliga/Times of India

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Categories: airports Oct 2010, New Oct 2010